Books: Flash, Empowered, Fafhrd, and the Mouser

-Three comics collections this time . . .

The Flash, the Fastest Man Alive: Lightning in a Bottle by Bilson, Demeo, Lashley

-The story of how Bart Allen becomes the fourth Flash. Despite having been a fan of the adventures of the third Flash, this book just didn't do much for me. It felt like a recycling of many earlier stories.

Empowered by Adam Warren

-The superheorine Empowered is the opposite of empowered. Yes, she has a supersuit that gives her strength, invulnerability, and energy blasts, but it rips like tissue paper, and she spends a lot of time getting captured. The book is basically a satire of superheroics, and it kinda works for me, especially the relationship between Emp, her boyfriend (a former henchman for supervillains), and her best friend (the mildly alcoholic ninja). If you like cheescake art and mocking of superhero tropes, recommended.

Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser by Leiber, Chaykin, Mignola, Williamson

-The classic adventures of Leiber's F&GM, adapted by Howard Chaykin and illustrated by Mike "Hellboy" Mignola. Love it, love it, love it. (Though, if I hadn't read the stories before, I suspect the adaptations would be confusing. There's a lot going on in an F&GM tale.) In particular, Mignola's interpretation of Sheelba and Ningauble, though simple, is very evocative.